The Price of Garbage

"You're a terrible person"
"Why are you so mean?" 
"That's just rude."

Just a few of the remarks that I hear on a fairly regular basis. Now, I will say that usually it's said by friends or family who I know love me and who are not being entirely serious when they speak. But nevertheless, the statements are just terribly mean and rude no matter how they're spoken. The irony right?? :D
The reality is that my reaction in such moments is to honestly acknowledge the truth and it accept it. I'll admit, the remarks are warranted usually. But even if they're not, there's still a truth in these statements. I was reminded of this yesterday as I was listening to a sermon on Hosea. 

The bible tells us that "no one is righteous, not one" (Rom 3:10)   and that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom 5:8) These are fairly common phrases that get tossed around in Christian circles, I feel, in an effort "to keep us humble," whatever that means.... But while most of us will readily admit that we are sinners, saved by grace and imperfect in many ways, how often do we consider ourselves bad people? I mean really, we are just as guilty as the unbelievers who compare themselves to one another by saying, "I'm a good person. At least I'm not doing that." Disclaimer: this is not an attack. What I am saying is this:
There is absolutely nothing good about us. Hosea was told to marry AND LOVE (notice it's an active choice) a woman he knew would be unfaithful to him. Taking it a step further, he actually went and BOUGHT HER OUT OF SLAVERY after she'd left him and gotten herself into a horrible situation. And God used this to give us a picture of the kind of love that He has for us. Never once did she ever do anything to earn his love, nor are we ever told of what her response to his love was. There was no guarantee that she would return, or even honor, his love. This is God's picture for us. There was nothing about us that was appealing or even promising about us, but God CHOSE to love us despite that. 

I was also struck by Jesus' command to us to "love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength." (Mat 22:37, among others) In other words, to love with ALL you are. Think about this with me... if God IS love and God is perfect...and if we are to be transformed (Rom 12:2) and made into His image, then our love, for both Him and for others, should be perfect as well, right? Our love is imperfect because we are imperfect. We are insecure, broken and scared. If there's anything I want you to get from this blog, it's this:

God, in all of His sovereignty and righteousness, can love perfectly because He knows that loving others, and more importantly how others respond to His love, does not change His own value or worth.

What does this mean for us? It means that when we allow His love to transform our hearts, we begin to realize that our worth and value comes not from what others think of us or what we do, but from the value that He's given us. While we were still sinners, unfaithful and filthy, God sent His own Son to earth to defeat death so that He could be with us terrible people. 

How marvelous is that??